Wiggles_dad

I was wondering if we could start a forum for community bike shops. How do we make this happen?

fietsbob

Define your use of the term 'Community' our town has one bike shop, A commercial enterprise.

Fastfingaz

Seems you'd have to have a repersentative from each communitys' bike shop? providing input and activity,,

JanMM

Would it be about Local Bike Shops of all varieties? Or, cooperatives?

no1mad 

Care to elaborate a bit more? A commercial LBS sells and services bikes sold to the community around it. If you are talking about a co-op, there is a resource sticky thread in LCF.

Wiggles_dad

It would be about bicycle co-ops and collectives, not commercial LBS's. I checked out the sticking in the LCF forum and the sticky just lists bicycle co-ops around the country. These simply link you to each shop's website. What I am proposing is a place where people can share ideas about working in, operating, and volunteering in a bicycle co-op. Every year there is conference called "Bike Bike" that is centered around exchanging ideas for bicycle cooperatives. Yet, I haven't found a good online resource where people that are involved in their local cooperative can exchange ideas with people from other cooperatives.

For example, what are some of the ways that bicycle co-ops train new volunteers? Do co-ops have a script for how they great new people that are first visiting a co-op and ask, "Hi, I've never been here before but I thought I would check you guys out. My bicycle's brakes are not working."

fietsbob

I used to live in Eugene Oregon at the time there were 2 .. one just for students at the Uni,

and another for the town as a whole, via membership annual fee,
or By the Hour a rent the access for a limited time period.


Now I live else where , I can make it work like a Co-op .

because they hire me in peak summer to cope with the Bike Tourists, through town,
and ending Up Here.

but I use the employee relationships through out the year.

Machka 

I think those sorts of topics would fit well in the Living Car Free forum. That forum is only partially about Living Car Free ... for the most part it is about people who live car light, who might live somewhat alternative lifestyles, and who want to promote cycling in their communities ... which is what the co-ops are all about.

Siu Blue Wind

We have one. It's our Industrial section. It's for those who are in the business. PM me if you or someone know here qualifies.

Mobile 155

That forum is way too political for someone just looking for information on Co-ops. Utility maybe?

Wiggles_dad

To me, our bicycle cooperative is much different than a local bike shop. Indeed, one of the missions of our cooperative is to promote cycling as a way of life. That said, it is not exclusive to those who "might live an alternative lifestyle" or those who are car free. I live in Salt Lake City, UT where there is a big roadie scene and a big MTB scene and many of the roadies and MTBers are also part of the bicycle collective. The bicycle collective represents the entire community of cyclists including: kids, commuters, cyclocrossers, roadies, mountain bikers, tall bikers, and fixie kids. I've worked on my bike in between some homeless guy and a kid who was servicing his big-hit down hill bike.

The reason why I am looking for a forum is because there are many aspects to a bicycle coop. For instance our co-op offers the following (to name a few things): a kids' "earn-a-bike program," a frame building class, a Park Tools maintenance class, free bicycle vallet at local events during the warmer months, and a community service program.

I would like to interact with people who are interested in asking, "how can we better serve our bicycle co-op?" and, "how can our bicycle co-op better serve our community?" Ideas! Tips! Stories!

Fastfingaz

Well,, down here in New Orleans theres' one called Bike Easy as in the Big Easy and they're project right now is to educate 4th grade students on how to bike safely and some maintenance, they also organize weekly rides and offer bike valets to some events,,,,,,,

Wiggles_dad

Just found this: https://www.bikecollectives.org/

Maybe there was my answer. Thank everyone for their input.